Door



Feb. 7, 1933. wlNCHELL 1,896,691

DOOR

Filed June 10, 1930 firm/ i 7 Q.

I 4 2/ Arron/m5 Patented F ch. 7, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ARTHUR B. WINCHELL, OF JACKSON, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE SPARKS-WITHINGTON COMPANY, OF JACKSON, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION or OHIO DOOR Application filed June 10,1930. Serial No. 460,220.

This invention relates to improvements in doors and particularly to folding doors adapted to be used in connection with cabinets, closets and the like. 7

The main objects of this invention are to provide doors-of the folding or collapsible type which may be quickly and easily opened or closed, to provide a simple and economically constructed means whereby the sections of the doors, in opening, will be automatically folded in parallelrelation one upon the other at one side of the cabinet opening in such a manner that the outer face of the door will be facing outwardly so that the door will present the same appearance in the open as in the closedposition, and at the same time conserve space and prevent the possibility of the door striking and injuring or marring thecab-inet when opened.

Other objects and advantages relating to the construction and arrangement thereof will more fully appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which: v

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a cabinet or closet showing my improved door connected therewith and in the open position.

Figure 2 isan enlarged detail transverse horizontal sectional View taken on line 22, Figure 1, showing the door closed by full lines, and indicated in the open position by dotted lines. I

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail section taken in the plane of the line 33, Figure2.

- Figure 4 is a detail horizontal section taken on line H, Figure 1.

Figures 5 and 6 are perspective views. of a catch and keeper respectively, adapted to be used in connection with my improved door.

In the drawing, the cabinet as 1 may be of any convenient size or design and, in

this instance, consists of a back wall '-2- side walls 3, front wall 4., top-5+- and bottom 6, all of which may be connected in any well-known manner and'supported uponlegs .as -6. The front wall 4- of the cabinet is provided with an opening -7 which may he of any convenient shape or size, depending upon the use for which the cabinet is designed and, in this instance, is substantially rectangular 1n outline.

The door as -8- for closing the opening 7 and embodying the various features of this invention, is of substantially the same outline and size as the opening 7 and comprises two substantially similar sections 9 and -10 arranged side by side when in the closed position within the opening -7. The door sections '9 and -l0 are pivotally connected, in this instance, by means of two hinges 11 secured in spaced relation to the adjacent vertical edges of the sections 9 and 10, and the door -8- is pivotally secured to the cabinet by a pair of hinges -12- secured to the outer vertical edge of one of the sections as 10 and the adjacent side wall of the opening -7.

The hinges 12 are arranged to permit the door to swing outwardly from the closed position within the opening -7 to the open position parallel and in contact with the front wall -4 of the cabinet adjacent said hinges 12'. The hinges 1l are so positioned as to permit the sections -9 and 10 of the door to be folded upon each other with the inner faces thereof adjacent each other when the door is in the open position, as illustrated by dotted lines, Figure 2. This folding of the door sections upon each other is automatically accomplished'during the opening movement of the door by means of a relatively thin fiat guide bar 13 p0- sitioned on the bottom 6 of the cabinet end of the door 8 which, in this instance, is spaced from the bottom-6 su-fiiciently to permit the movement of the bar 13 therebetween.

The bar -13- is of greater length than the width of the section -9 of the door and is pivotally connected to the door section 9 by a shouldered screw '14 which passes through a suitable opening in one end of the bar and is screw threaded in the bottom of said door section near the outer vertical edge thereof, while theother end of the bar +13 is pivotally connected by a shouldered screw -15- screw-threaded in the bottom -6 of the cabinet at the apex of a triangle whose sides are equal to the distance between the screws M and -15- and whose base lies in the same plane and is equal to the distance between the different positions of the screw -14 when the door is in the closed and open position. In other words, the bar -l3- is so positioned and pivotally connected with the door 8 and bottom 6 of the cabinet that during the movement of the door from the closed position within the opening -7 to the open position at one side of the opening and in parallelism with the front wall l, the sections 9 and 10- of the door will be automatically swung by the action of the bar 13 about the vertical axis of the hinges -1l from the extended position, and folded in parallel relation one upon the other, with the outer face of the then outer door section 9- facing outwardly to present the same general appearance as when the door is in the closed position.

The door -8 is also provided with a suitable means such as the pull knob 16- secured to the outer positioned section 9 near the adjacent meeting edges of the sections of the door so that in operating the door, it is only necessary for the operator to grasp the knob *l6 and swing the door about the axis of the door-supporting hinges -l2, whereupon the door will be automatically folded or extended as it is moved from the closed to the open position, or vice versa, without the necessity of the hand being removed from the knob and with the minimum amount of movement.

It is desirable to maintain the door, when in the closed position, against being accidentally opened and for this purpose, I have provided a. simple and novel device which not only prevents the accidental opening of the door by preventing the outward swinging thereof in the extended position about the vertical axis of the supporting hinges 12, but also assists the operation of the door when being opened by retarding the initial outward swinging movement of the section 9 thereof by first causing the sec tions 9 and 10- of the door to swing about the vertical axis of the hinges 11 joining said sections.

This device consists of a catch member -20 and akeeper 21. The catch 20- is a substantially rectangular piece formed with a reduced end 22 bent at right angles to one face of the remainder of the piece and is secured by screws -23- or their equivalent to the upper end of the vertical side wall of the opening 7 opposite the side to which the hinges 12- are attached.

The keeper 21 is secured, in this instance, by screws -2l to the upper face of the door section 9 near the outer edge thereof and is provided with a slot Z5- extending inwardly from the outer edge thereof for receiving the tongue -22 of the catch member -ZU when the door is in the closed position, as illustrated more clearly in higure 4;. This engaging of the catch member with the Keeper will continue when the door 15 being opened until the door sections t) and l() assume a slight relative angular position, as they swing about the vertical axis of the hinges ll-. This movement of the sections will draw the keeper -2lfrom the catch member -20- sui'iiciently to release it therefrom and permit the lever l5 to guide the door as it continues to travel to the open position.

Although i have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, 1 do not wish to be limited to the exact construction shown, as various changes in the construction may readily be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

1 claim:

1. The combination with a cabinet having a door opening, of a folding door for closing said opening and comprising two sections hinged together, one of said sections being hinged at one side to the cabinet to swing from the closed position within the opening to the open position at one side thereof and in parallel relation to the front of the cabinet and means attached to the cabinet and to the outer lower edge of the other door section in spaced relation to the hinge connection between the door sections and movable in a path out of the path of movement of the folding door for automatically folding and unfolding the door sections during the opening and closing movements of the door.

2. The combination with a cabinet having a door opening, of a folding door for closing said opening and comprising two sections hinged together to fold inwardly upon each other, one of said sections being hinged at one side to the cabinet to swing from the closed position within the opening to the open position at one side thereof and in parallel relation to the front of the cabinet, and a bar pivotally connected with the other section of the door and with the cabinet adapted to move in a path below the lower edges of the folding door sections to fold and unfold the door sections during the opening and closing movements of the door.

3. The combination with a cabinet having a door opening, of a folding door formed of hinged sections for closing said opening, the outer edge of one section being hinged to the cabinet to swing from the closed position within the opening to the open position at one side thereof and in parallel relation to the front of the cabinet, and a bar pivoted at one end to the bottom of the cabinet and pivoted at its other end to the underside of the free swinging edge of another door section to fold and unfold the door sections during the opening and closing movements of the door, and said bar being movable in a path removed from the path of movement of the folding door and confined within the cabinet when the door is in closed position.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

ARTHUR B. WINCHELL. 

